Njideka Akunliyi

It’s hard to ignore the glow from The Studio Museum in Harlem’s Artist-In-Residence alumni when visiting the museum. David Hammons, Kerry James Marshall and Julie Mehretu are just a few of the museum’s now famed past residents, so it’s easy to start thinking about who might be the next star. Of all three artists-in-residence—Njideka Akunliyi, Xaviera Simmons, and Meleko Mokgosi—Njideka Akunliyi gets my pick for who might eventually join the ranks of Hammons and Mehretu.